Most of us have outdoor furniture that’s constantly exposed to external factors such as bad weather, rain, hail, snow and a lot more. All of these things impact the quality of the furniture and when the time for maintenance finally comes, the costs will obviously be larger if we didn’t take good care previously.
It’s every person’s wish to have low upkeep for outdoor furniture, but not everybody knows how to achieve that. In this article, we’ll talk specifically about reducing the need for upkeep for outdoor furniture, so if you are currently worried about the cost for maintenance and you want to lower it, this is the right place to be.
As these things vary based on your living area and the type of furniture you have, we’ll be providing a lot of details, so make sure to stick with us until the end. Without further ado, let’s take a look at what you need to know.
Find out the type of furniture you have
Before taking care of your furniture you need to know exactly what type it is. Now when there’s a difference in the material such as metal and wood, that’s an obvious comparison, but when it’s wood and you don’t know what type of wood it is, then you have a problem. Different types of wood require different care, so your first step should be finding that out. Also, depending on the climate in your living area, some choices are better than others when it comes to outdoor furniture material choice. If you live near water, and in a place where there’s a lot of humidity in the air, it’s better to choose wooden furniture. This is because metal will easily start to rust and corrode, so your maintenance costs will obviously be higher as well.
Clean it often but use adequate cleaning liquids
If your outdoor furniture is made out of organic material, you shouldn’t use chemicals that may harm or damage the wood. But, even if it’s made out of metal, there are still different chemicals for different types of metal. It’s really important that you don’t mess these up because you’ll do more harm than good in the end. In case you already did the damage and now you’re looking to start over with new furniture, you can learn more here.
Try fixating the furniture in place
In areas where strong winds are common, it’s better that you fixate the furniture in place in order to avoid any damage caused by winds sending the elements flying around. A very cost-efficient way to do this is to use thin rope and tie the chairs and tables to your fence, but this is something that doesn’t look good. So, if aesthetics is what you care about, it is best that you nail down the furniture to the deck, but this is also impractical because you won’t be able to move things around in case you ever need to. So, what’s the solution? Zip ties that can be easily cut out. Try choosing ones that are the same color as your furniture or the deck. When you’re all done with this, wind can no longer push around your elements and make them hit each other, which will prevent any damage from happening, and therefore reducing your upkeep costs.
Use furniture sunscreen
We feel like a really small number of people do this but it’s a really important thing and it can help you reduce maintenance costs by a lot. We all know any material that’s exposed to the sun for many hours each day will eventually get damaged, and your furniture is not an exception. Well, thankfully, we have furniture sunscreen which is cheap and very efficient in what it does. Apply a thin coat either by using your hands or by using a painting brush, and your chairs, tables or swings will look perfect forever. A very cheap investment that can go a long way considering all the costs a person needs to go through if the furniture gets totally destroyed by the sun.
Shade is just a piece of cloth which barely costs anything
Once again, if you don’t like to expose your furniture to the sun, which is a really smart thing to do, but you also don’t like wasting your time adding layers of furniture sunscreen for example, the next cheapest thing you can do is install some shade on your deck. You don’t have to do anything fancy such as buying a huge umbrella to block the sun rays. All you need to do is install a piece of cloth that’s preferably a bit thicker and a darker color. That will be enough to keep the sun rays away from your furniture.
Try buying furniture that’s light in color
Last but not least, we always suggest that people buy outdoor furniture in lighter colors instead of purchasing in black for example. This is for obvious reasons, but if it doesn’t ring a bell, it’s because dark colors absorb more light. Now, we know that in most modern homes, a full-black and metal outdoor furniture goes amazingly well with the modern darkwood deck, but if you are planning to do this then you should invest in some sort of a shade as well. Either that or prepare for a lot of furniture sun screening because things will get damaged by the sun pretty quickly.
Conclusion
Keeping your outdoor furniture in top shape is really important because the longer things last, the less money you’ll have to pay in the long run. In today’s article we covered some of the most important things that you need to do when you want to maximize the durability and the safety of your outdoor elements. Implementing these tips doesn’t cost a lot of money but it can indeed save you quite a lot. Thank you for reading and we hope you’ll ensure your furniture stays in top shape for many years to come.
